Eric Flint has written an interesting article about the effects of free downloads on sales, specifically, sales of his books. It’s not a large enough sample size to be that meaningful, but nevertheless it’s interesting. Flint writes, “Let me begin by posing a simple question. Does anyone have any real evidence that having material available for free online-whether legitimately or through piracy-has actually caused any financial harm to any author?”

: RFC 3271 – The Internet is for Everyone. It’s a little disappointing that he only implies that the content control sought by the record companies and Valenti and others is “against” the spirit of the Internet rather than taking a clear position on the issue. To focus exclusively or even mainly on the “government control” bogeyman is a little beside the point in 2002, no? Didn’t they learn anything from the 1996-97 experience, from the smokescreen called the CDA?

this month: Seeing Around Corners by Jonathan Rauch. Spinning artificial societies to learn about unintended consequences in complex systems. And to put the lie to most economists and many political scientists. Rational choosers? Humbug! Isolated individuals? Forget it!